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Lange
Lange is the country to the north-west of Kyth, bordering Kine and Bern. It also shares borders with Meltaim, Lyell and Macarinth. It is a cold, inhospitable country, whose populace are equally impoverished and unpleasant. Divided between various squabbling nobles of various degrees of influence while the north is inhabited by wild tribes of mercenaries, Lange is politically and socially a mess. The whole collection is held in some semblance of order by the Irbis Dynasty, ruling out of the capital of Tiraspol. Due to their xenophobia and lack of travel opportunities, Lange tends to keep to itself, though the northmen frequently travel through the country in order to take up mercenary work further afield. History Lange originates as a series of tribes and clans held together by blood ties, ties which are still very important to every person in the country..This tribal way of living still persists in the northern mountains, who still squabble and fight for territory as they used to in the olden days. They used to be a much larger country than they are today. Long ago, the Langeans exiled their mages to the relatively uninhabited mountains in the south of the province, eventually giving birth to the country known as Meltaim, which split off from its parent. Due to this exile, Lange is almost entirely devoid of mages, with any tracing their origins back to Meltaim eventually. They also owned some territories in Macarinth and Kyth, but over time these too have been lost in ill-advised wars, reducing Lange to the state it is currently in. Since then, the country has largely kept to itself, though it still maintains relations with the outside world. There have been attempts by its rulers to bring the country out of its shell and form a more cohesive alliance with its neighbours. The latest of which was by Tsar Vsevolod and Tsarevich Georgiy, who in the middle of the 1200s was promising to be a progressive and highly intelligent tsar. They reached out to Kyth and even Macarinth in friendship, including assisting with Kythian border troubles from the northmen and marrying a member of Kyth's nobility, from House Stallion, to an Irbis. Unfortunately, this proved to be a fatal mistake when Tsarevich Georgiy followed the whims of his heart and began to dote on his mistress, Alena Filina, excessively, prioritising her over his wife and his country. This cost him his life when he challenged the assasin sent by his wife to kill the mistress and both lost, though Alena's body was never found, only her bloodstained dress. After his death, his younger brother, Yuriy, and his foreign wife took power, to the resentment of the nobility and the peasantry alike, resentment which fuelled the anger of their son, Seraphim. This anger eventually made him overcompensate and strike out against his mother's homeland in what became known as the Seraphim wars, two wars against Kyth which resulted in losses for Lange both times. The last of these was humiliating for Lange, making it lose part of its territory and its major trading city, Tarpan, and thus guaranteed a century of angry, frustrated isolation for the country and deepening xenophobia. Geography Being one of the most extreme north countries in Avani, Lange's climate is subsequently very cold and harsh. Winters are long and summers are short, with temperatures never reaching quite high in summer but falling to extreme lows in winter. As a result, only the hardiest animals and people survive up there. Lange is divided very starkly between lowlands and mountains, to point where it reflects in their ethnic groups. The Sever mountains stretch across the top half of the country and are home to the mercenary clans collectively called the 'northmen'. They live in the deep valleys and gorges of the mountains and are highly skilled in using the inhospitable terrain to their advantage. Passage through the mountains is only available via river or through the small, steep goat tracks that trek through them, with many sheer drops awaiting those who are not careful. The highest mountain, the Velikan, is over 10,000 feet in height. The lowlands are slightly more welcoming but not by much. They are either covered in untraverseable pine forests or bogged down with vast networks of wetlands which freeze during the winter. Indeed, the only easy passage through Lange is through its two wide rivers, the Velika and the Volshe river, however the latter leads to Meltaim and is therefore not considered ideal. The former is a major trade route, leading to Lyell and Macarinth, and as a result all of the country's trade is concentrated there. Cities There is a distinct lack of cities for the size of the territory, due to the inhospitable terrain of the country and because most of the nobility prefer to live in small villages where they can keep an eye on their serfs. Many of the cities are therefore military or merchant strongholds and contain the largest concentrations of freeborn people in the entire region. The exception is the capital, Tiraspol, seat of the royal dynasty. * Tiraspol- 'the capital, home of the Crimson Fortress, the seat of the Irbis dynasty. The largest city in Lange that has grown up thanks to the trade coming in along the Velika river, the main channel out of Lange. * Korga- the major western port and the seat of many a merchant house who trade with the west. This is probably one of the few cities in Lange aside from the capital where foreigners are tolerated, even if they're not exactly welcomed. * Rudiya- Lange's other port, though only accessible in high summer. It is used to trade with the east of Avani and down along the river channel. * Bundin- A stopping point on the only proper road through Lange which connects the two rivers running through the country. * Ozerot- A town which only survives thanks to the fishing of Lake Dunai, the largest lake in the country. * Bezmino- A town whose name literally means "nameless". It is an inhospitable, small, dirty place used only as a point of reference for gathering northmen mercenaries. * Vyzhino- The only easily accessible town in the northern mountains and a gathering of merchants who wish to trade with dwarves or northmen. * Suzun- The confluence of the rivers and an important stopping point between Vyzhino and the capital. * Lapina- A fortress built in the middle of a swamp on the other side of the lake to keep an eye on the Meltaim border. * Uty- A fortress outpost, which after the loss of Tarpan has become the closest to the Kythian border. Flora, Fauna and the Supernatural Much of Lange is wilderness, untouched by its low human population, and as a result, it is rich in any wildlife which can survive the harsh conditions that are presented to it. Flora Langean flora is everywhere. The most common are the thick forests of pine, conifer and various other evergreens, interspersed with birch. To the south there are some hardy deciduous trees such as aspen or oak. The northern mountains are only covered in sparse grasses and wild flowers which can survive the harsh climate. Crops like wheat grow poorly in Lange, therefore oats and rye are more common, as are legumes such as peas and beans as well as potatoes and turnips which form the staple diet. Wild berries grow in quantities and help add some flavour, as do mushrooms and nut trees. Fauna Many an animal lives amongst the thick forests of Lange. The apex predators are wolves and bears, with tigers inhabiting the more western part of the country. Wild boar, moose and deer are the creatures that they feed on, as well as rabbits and hares, especially in the mountains. Ibex also live in the deep mountainous reaches, forming a key part of the food chain there. The mountains are also home to Lange's symbol animal: the snow leopard. Minor predators in the forest include stoats, sables and wildcats. The west is also home to small forest bison. The swamps are home to a large variety of waterbirds who come there during the summer, including storks, herons and geese. Predatory birds include falcons, eagles, owls, ospreys and shrikes as well as mountain vultures. Grouse live in the mountains for predators to hunt. The forests host various woodpeckers and songbirds, though again often during the summer, and swifts and swallows rarely come to stay for a short while in the southern regions. Crows and ravens live everywhere and are important in folklore. Fish are a critical part of the diet and inhabit most major waterways. Reptiles, however, find the climate unsuitable for them. Supernatural As with any wilderness, there is plenty of space in the forests for magical creatures to hide. The rivers and lakes are inhabited by creatures called Rusalki, the spirits of drowned, abused or scorned women who now seek their revenge on those who wronged them. Only when they find them can they be at peace, and until then, they are a danger to any travellers who stop by the waterways they haunt. They have a close male counterpart, the Vodyanoy, who is simply a male water spirit that can be benevolent or harmful depending on moon. Leshi live in the forests and swamps and are said to be servants of Ranumgen due to their ability to change shape. They are closely related to Bernian seelie fairies. Conversely, the closest relatives of unseelie fairies are creatures called kikimoras, a troublesome spirit who takes the form of an old woman and wreaks havoc in any house which she comes into and can even cause harm to its inhabitants. Similarly, a Bies spirit can possess and hypnotise humans to make them do its will. Vampires haunt the night, and indeed are believed to be Langean in origin. Strzyga too, hunt unwary travellers in the deep forests. Many of these creatures are believed to be the children of Ranumgen due to their magical powers and tendency to either hurt or heal. As a result, killing them or hurting them not in self-defence is considered a sin by the common people. The nobility, except the most superstitious ones, have no such qualms. Sirins Of special mention of the Langean supernatural creatures are the sirins. True sirins are five foot tall birds with human female heads and faces, who depending on the individual may either have hair or feathers on their heads. What type of bird they are varies by individual, with birds of prey, passerine birds, seabirds and corvids being common and less common being waterfowl, storks and waders. Most sirins are female, with males being rare and hiding mostly where they cannot be found. They are highly intelligent, almost immortal creatures with some capability for working magic. This commonly manifests as future-seeing, though some have other abilities such as mind-reading and telekinesis. They have a fondness for jewelry and are said to be magnificent singers, so good that they can entrap unsuspecting humans. The only way to release one of those people is to offer a sirin a precious gift. However, most are benevolent and kind, rarely interfering with human affairs. Save for the snow leopard that is their symbol, the sirin is the most important creature in Lange for the Irbis royals. Every generation, several highly symbolic, important and sacred hunts accompanied by specialised handlers and at least one member of the royal family goes out to try to capture at least one of these magnificant creatures, if not several. Once a sirin is captured, she is taken back to the capital and used together with eagles to create a hybrid creature known as a "royal sirin". They are inferior copies of the original, reduced in intelligence and beauty, and fully incapable of working magic. Nevertheless, they are instrumental to the workings of the royal family as they are the only creatures which can safely penetrate into the northern mountains to summon the northmen. While smaller than a true sirin, they are four feet tall and therefore not vulnerable to predation, and their power of speech allows them to convey the message to the illiterate northmen that they are needed. They can reach where no messenger can and can cover greater distances than any man on foot or horseback, therefore becoming the only reliable tool of communication. However, due to their rarity and how prized they are, they are only ever used for summoning northmen. Royal sirins are rarely taken out of the capital, almost never out of the country with armies and have only a handful of times ever been given away as gifts to foreign dignitaries. Of those, none have survived, often dying when taken out of their native Lange. The royal sirins are seen by true sirins as ugly abominations which they will shun and avoid. Culture Family and community ties are the most sacred of bonds between all Langeans, noble and peasant. To break or betray such bonds is considered an unforgivable crime and can result in the perpetrator being outcast. For men, the biggest crime is killing their father, for women, it is killing their children. The only exception is when such a break is acting for the benefit of the family, such as in maintaining honour and keeping the peace. The bonds of family are most clearly demonstrated by the serfs, who having nothing, will do anything for their families and communities. However, even the nobility, for all their squabbles and backstabbing, do value their families. As a result, the family does not break up and often multiple generations live in one household, even if said house is very small. Responsibility for the family is shared between the patriarch and the oldest female in the household, usually his mother, and their word is law amongst that family, governing the women, children and other members of the house. In return, they are responsible for the protection and fulfillment of the needs of the family that relies on them. They look after their own, no matter how unfortunate. Abandoning a dependent is seen as a great sin in the eyes of the Langeans and they look down on anyone who abandons their family. This leads to strange attitudes about infidelity: for women, cheating is seen as abhorrent no matter what because of the possibility of bearing children not belonging to the husband. For men, however, it is acceptable as long as they do not get attached to their mistress and do not neglect their "true" family for her. She is only there to satisfy any urges while his family are the ones he must provide for, not her or any subsequent children. They are very highly resistant to change and cling hard on to tradition because to let go of those traditions is to risk upsetting the natural order and thus risk losing their entire livelihoods. As a result, enacting any sweeping changes in Lange is all but impossible and requires a very strong will and a lot of manpower. The serfs will often obey what their masters ask for and the nobility are used to having little control and getting thier own way, therefore any change that comes must be from the top down and must be enforced harshly. Due to their isolation, the danger and difficultry of travel, the culture is highly distrustful of outsiders. Xenophobia is rampant and a constant problem for any traders hoping to do business in Lange as well as any foreign nobles who find themselves married into Lange. This stems from the very, very close communal bonds that the people create amongst themselves: they know who to trust in their social circle and any strangers are a potential danger. However, should said stranger prove themselves to be an asset and a friend to the community, Langeans are the best and most loyal comrades anybody could have, selflessly risking life and limb to protect and help those they hold dear, knowing the others would do the same for them. To win the trust of a Langean, you must first demonstrate to them that you have something to offer them. Once you do, the hospitality that will be offered to you will be beyond compare. A host who cannot provide for their guest is considered a poor one, and even at the most poverty-stricken households, the family will give up their last bread for a friend visiting unexpectedly. Yet despite all the hardship of living in the country, Langeans are known for being highly patriotic. They are proud of what they have because it is ''theirs and nobody else's and will give their last breath to defend it. Langeans, male and female, are known for being tough and fierce, having to learn to defend themselves and their homes from nature and raiders alike. Men are expected to know how to fight, even if none but nobles and northman mercenaries can possess the curved swords they call sabres, and women too must know how to defend their homes and their honour. A proper Langean woman is said to be able to stop a galloping wild horse in its tracks with ease. Appearances are highly important in Lange, especially amongst its nobility. Status is often presented through rich and elaborate clothing, and the more beautiful, finely tailored and patterned your clothes are, the higher your social status. Some materials and furs are restricted to the nobility, with only royaly being allowed to wear snow leopard fur and gold. Conversely, even if a serf or commoner could afford materials such as pearls or gold they would be punished for even attempting to wear it, often with a flogging. The attitude of appearances is also reflected in Langean buildings, with the more important ones being highly elaborate and beautiful. This is most starkly seen in Ranumgenist churches, which have elegant carvings of wood and stone of the various avatars of Ranumgen. Noble residences too, are beautifully carved and often painted in garish colours. Often, this results in cutting corners for those who do not have money, but appearances are valued over practicality because appearance means respect. Even despite their poverty and the difficultly of their lives, or because of it, Langeans love a good party. They will use any excuse to celebrate and value good food and music as life's pleasures. There are many beautiful Langean songs, often celebrating simple, everyday topics such as nature, love and war. A musician is given great status in their village. Food in this country consists of rich, hearty, warming dishes which are made to stretch the thinnest of resources. Meat is a common staple, as are hardy grains and forest products, with grain being more common in the south and even then seen as a luxury. Religion Lange is stricly Ranumgenist, worshipping the god Ranumgen who is often referred to colloquially as "the Trickster" or "the Jester". Ranumgen is believed to be one god with a million forms which can be literally anything, male or female, human or animal, living or inanimate, and whatever form he takes is up to his whim. The world is controlled by the whims of Ranumgen, who shows favour sometimes and other times takes that favour away, often arbitrarily and on a dime. The worship of Ranumgen, therefore, consists of a lot of rules and rituals such as predicting fortunes and outcomes through dice rolls, runes or tiles scattered on the ground and predicted. Priests of Ranumgen live in seclusion, inside the shadowy, poorly-lit temples which are often the governing centre of each village or small town. The local church is responsible for the care of the poor, the rituals surrounding birth and death, resolving local disputes, scribing, keeping records, taking in orphans and communicating with the nobility should the serfs have any concerns. Services are conducted outside and non-priests are only allowed inside on special circumstances if they have business, with some sections being barred to the laypeople entirely. The churches are not lit inside, with priests carrying candles in order not to attract Ranumgen's attention, and silence has to be maintained almost all the time. People must come in with their prayers, which the priests offer to Ranumgen. The priests themselves do not possess any material wealth and must give anything they find away, for not having something means Ranumgen cannot take anything away. A priest trains for years to their position, learning the many scriptures and contradictory verses of the religion as well as the rituals to predict Ranumgen's will. During the course of their training, they must sew a full robe for themselves which is made from mismatched scraps of cloth. The cloth must not be bought but found by chance and each patch has a story to tell. Only when the robes are complete are they considered fully blessed by Ranumgen and can enter the priesthood. Due to Ranumgen's many forms, human and animal, sacrifices are explicitly forbidden in case the people kill their god. Offerings may be brought but they can only be of plant, not animal origin, and priests rarely consume any meat unless it is of an animal which died naturally. Any bad circumstances that befalls people is considered a trick of Ranumgen. Children born with disabilities, physical or mental, or those who are afflicted by disabiliy later in life, are seen as victims of Ranumgen's pranks and therefore must be looked after, if pitied highly for their misfortune. Ranumgen's decision cannot be questioned, only accepted and lived with. This is used to justify the class system of Lange, as the position you were born in is the will of Ranumgen and thus is a sin to change. Classes Lange is a highly stratified country with many divides within it and very little social mobility. The various social classes and groups are listed below. Commoners With very few exception, many of the common people of Lange are serfs bound to their lord. They are virtually slaves with no rights, tied to their land, community and noble, and able to be traded, bought or sold, though these are private exchanges between the nobility and not an open slave market as is in Courdon. Only nobles may keep serfs, with the few free merchants and craftsmen instead having to rely on hired help. These free people, however, do have right of movement and right of free trade, having only ties to their family, country and rulers in the way of taxes. Merchants in particular are one of the most mobile classes in Lange, both physically and socially, though their businesses are closed in due to being organised around the family instead of by shareholders and investors. The serfs majorly live in the country, in small communes which farm the land for their landlord. Each commune is taxed collectively and thus they have very strong ties to each other. They help each other out in times of need and many serf children grow up feeling like their entire village is their family. As a result of this closeness and due to the harsh world they live in, they are distrustful of any outsiders and people they do not know. This is exacerbated by the high level of superstition they have as serfs recieve only what education is provided within the commune, a commune which they will never leave. Indeed, the common word for the commune is "mir", literally translated as "world" as it is the only world they could ever know. Serfs are highly servile, accepting their natural place at the hands of their masters due to their highly paternal culture placing their noble master at the head of their "family" which they have no choice but to accept. However, serfs, especially those belonging to small border nobles, become highly loyal to them and thus resist any transfers or changes to their new lifestyle which has not been consented to by their masters. This makes them highly stubborn and resistant to foreign aggression, such as the Meltaiman Gods' Campaigns. Any serfs taken for those would have become highly belligerent and wished to return to their old lives, back to what they saw as their "natural order". Any who do not are very swiftly punished, either by their master or more likely, by their community for being disruptive. The Noblebloods Langean nobility are not refered to as "houses" but as "bloods", with nobles introducing themselves with their name, patronymic and saying they are the "Blood of name", with that name usually deriving from a particular animal found in the country. It is commonly believed that those nobles bear the attributes associated with that animal, and said animal is held in high regard amidst that noble's territory, with the peasantry believing that if one wanders into their village, it means their master is keeping an eye on them. Titles of nobles are usually ''Knyaz for males and Knyazhina for females, deriving from the ancient titles of the heads of the clans that formed the country. Nobility in Lange are not divided into "high" and "low" but there are nevertheless great disparities in their power. The power of a noble is measured not in how much land they control but how many serfs they have to farm it and as a result, the exchange of serfs, whether legally or illegally, is a huge issue amongst the nobility. Stolen or killed serfs can lead to bitter rivalries that last generations. Furthermore, larger nobles constrantly try to absorb smaller ones, either through marriage or through aggressive takeovers of their land and serfs. For the most part, this is not stopped by the royals unless the squabbles get out of hand and threaten the stability of the country as a whole. Smaller nobles maintain a very close, almost paternal relationship with their serfs, looking after them and working very closely with them in order to gain their trust and loyalty. Larger nobles, due to controlling vast amounts of territory, cannot and do not garner such loyalty but make up for it with stability and protection. Larger noble dynasties are concentrated in the centre and smaller, weaker noble holdings are scattered around the borders of the country. The exception to this is the Meltaiman border, which partly border the holdings of the large and powerful Lys' family. The names of the nobility that have been mentioned in canon are: * Los'- No clue, just know that Georgiy's wife came from there. Symbol is a moose. * Lys'- Meltaim border nobles, known for having striking red hair. Tsar Feodor's wife is from there. Symbol is a fox. * Filin- medium nobles on the west coast. Symbol is an eagle owl. * Lebed'- large nobles from somewhere. Tsar Kasimir's wife is from there. Symbol is a swan. * Skopa- Tsar Seraphim's wifey's house of origin. Symbol is an osprey. * Barsuk- small, border nobles, probably rendered extinct after their lands were taken over by Kyth. Symbol was a badger. * Zhulan- small, extinct noble border house near Macarinth. Original house of the woman known in death as Zoya Sable. Symbol was a shrike. * There can be more! Formerly Langean Houses, now Kythian: * Sable- Bernian minor House, absorbed into Kyth after the second Seraphim War. * Visent- Kinean minor House, absorbed into Kyth as well (status is up in the air, need to talk to GLQ more) The Northmen Both the most important group in Langean society and the most isolated, save for the dwarves. They have their own language, similar to Langean in the respects that the two can understand one another but not quite identical. The northmen themselves do not care for politics or the master/serf relationship and instead live in isolated villages in the mountains loyal only to the tribal elder of the village. However, they are the lynchpin of the power of the royal Irbis dynasty and one of the few ways Lange has contact with the outside world. Because there is very little in the mountains in terms of resources, the northmen sell themselves as mercenaries and frequently travel around or out of the country. They take part in wars, protecting trading caravans, participating in squabbles between nobles and serve as sellswords for anybody willing to pay the price. The way this is facilitated is through the Irbis royals themselves, who sell the contracts on behalf of the mercenaries and then put out the call for the amount of men that is necessary through the royal sirins. Indeed, the only reason the northmen accept the Irbises as their masters is due to their ability to find them work, and the only way Irbis control the country is through their monopoly over the northmen. Selling northman contracts is punishable by death. Because of their monopoly, the royals are able to keep a small amount of mercenaries full time and these men over time grow to be unshakeably loyal. They are known as the "Orlans", or Eagles, and are the personal bodyguards of the Tsars. They are highly skilled with sword, spear and bow and arrow alike, and their small horses are hardy beasts suited for mountain travel. The men learn to fight and ride often as soon as they can walk. Mercenaries have no rank, instead deferring by seniority. They have little respect for any authority that does not pay them and will will often raid and steal across borders, a practice tacitly encouraged by those who cannot pay them enough. If they are paid and the agreement is satisfactory for all parties, they make excellent and loyal soldiers. It does not matter to the northmen where their money comes from either. They are not picky for who they work for or what they are forced to do as it is considered a living. As long as they make enough money for their families at home to return to in the end, that is all that matters. Payment is sacred to a northman and if that cannot be provided, they will extract it no matter what. They prefer goods to pure money and some unscrupulous poor nobles have even paid them with their daughters. During wartime, they make much of their money looting conquered territories. The villages are small things located in protected areas in the mountains. Often, they are populated by women and those who cannot fight (something considered highly insulting and dishonourable in the culture) but they are far from weak. Rival tribes may often raid these villages for what meagre supplies they can find and as a result, the women have learned to defend themselves, often presenting a formidable foe to any raider who dares attack. Women rarely become mercenaries who travel simply because there is less demand for them and due to them marrying early, but it is not unheard of for a woman to take up a sword if the summons finds men lacking. However, she often has to hide her gender or risk trouble. Northmen never pick up their own dead after a battle as that is considered highly disrespectful to their fallen comrade. They instead leave them for the birds to eat as said birds are believed to carry their souls back home. Conversely, a carrion bird circling over a northman village is seen as a very bad omen. The Northmen, despite being regarded as savages, have a strong code of honour. They admire the falcon as they believe it is an honest bird who attacks head-on without deception and thus grant the same favour to their enemies. However, this is forgotten when confronted with an enemy who is used to implementing deception against them, most notably against mages. Northmen see magic as cheating and against the spirit of honest combat so they will retalliate the same way against a mage, often using guerilla tactics, ambushes and the element of surprise. In this way, even though they are a non-magical people, they can fight a unit of mages, which makes them essential in defence against Meltaim. Dwarves The dwarves and the human population of Lange rarely interact much and when that happens, it is only for trading purposes. Mostly, the dwarves live underground where they cannot be reached easily by humans. They do provide some of the metals exported from the Langean mountains and are the only ones who mine deep in the mountains, in the northman territories. Dwarf trading caravans do often traverse the territory of Lange and are mostly left alone or tolerated, even if the populace treats them with the same suspicion as they treat any outsider of their small commune. Like most non-human and non-animal inhabits of Lange, they are seem as children of Ranumgen. Foreign Relations Kyth Relationships with Kyth have varied over the years. Most of the time the two countries are enemies as Kyth contends with Langean raids and the occassional war. The brief period of peace and cooperation between the two did not last as immediately after, it was followed by two wars, wars which Lange humiliatingly lost. The Langeans view their eastern neighbours with disdain and some degree of envy as well as anger for the humiliation of the wars which cost them their territory. Meltaim (Umm...*prods Carrie and Shinko*) Macarinth (*Prodding intensifies*) Trivia * Lange is based heavily on medieval Russia. Subsequently, the substitute language is Russian and most names are Slavic in origin. Northman language is headcanonded to be Ukrainian as they are based partly on Cossacks. * It's name is pronounced "Lan-GE", not "Lang", and is just because Celes thought it sounded cool. * Note on genes: Langeans often have black or dark brown hair, rarely red. Their eyes are either brown or blue. Blonde hair and green eyes are unheard of and mark somebody as distinctly foreign. Category:Medieval Category:Countries